The outbreak was the first to hit a commercial poultry facility in Texas since 2024. The loss of broilers was the first nationwide since the H5N1 virus hit two smaller commercial flocks in mid-November in LaGrange County, Ind., with a combined nearly 34,000 birds. The only other broiler farm hit during the autumn surge of HPAI — which has been worse for the turkey and duck industries — was in October in Gordon County, Ga., with 139,000 chickens.
The Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) said the
Shelby County outbreak was
discovered after “considerable mortality” in the flock.